During a top layer etching operation or a plasma treatment operation in semiconductor fabrication processes, it has been observed that a difference in charging speeds of capacitors induces a delta voltage between two conductors, causing dielectric damage between conductors. The difference in charging speeds of capacitors results from an unbalanced capacitance-induced damage effect. It has also been observed that a larger capacitance differential between two capacitors correlates to a lower breakdown voltage of a gate dielectric (referred to as “Vbd tailing”).